HIRED GUNS IN SIERRA LEONE: MERCENARIES’ ENTHRALLING ROLE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24193/subbeuropaea.2024.2.15Keywords:
Sierra Leone, civil war, armed conflict, mercenaries, rebel groups, PMCs, paramilitary group, reconstructionAbstract
This research focuses on the role of mercenaries in the Sierra Leone civil war. This gruesome event that lasted for more than a decade, represents a critical case study in understanding the multi-dimensional dynamics of privatized force participation in modern conflicts. The involvement of the Private Military Company (PMC) named Executive Outcomes had a significant impact on charting Sierra Leone’s conflict trajectory. Providers of typical mercenary services, they were contracted to counteract the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) insurgency, often filling gaps left by weak state security forces and insufficient international intervention. It can be claimed that mercenaries played an effective role in securing key fronts and defending essential assets in this particular conflict, but their involvement accentuates issues of long-term consequences for governance, international norms, and peacebuilding. Thus, this paper provides insights into the complexities of privatized warfare in fragile states and their implications for future conflict resolution paradigms.
References
1. *** (2024), “Sierra Leone Country Report 2024”, in The Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI), [https://bti-project.org/en/reports/country-report/SLE], accessed on 30 November 2024.
2. *** (2024), “The World Bank in Sierra Leone”, in World Bank, 21 October, [https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/sierraleone/overview], accessed on 30 November 2024.
3. *** (2012), ”Analyzing the causes”, in Sierra Leone Civil War, 8 February, [http://sierraleonecivilwar.com/the-sierra-leone-civil-war/], accessed on 13 November 2024.
4. *** (2003), ”Sexual Violence in the Sierra Leone Conflict”, in Human Rights Watch, Vol. 15, No. 1, January, [https://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/sierraleone/sierleon0103.pdf], accessed on 15 November 2024.
5. *** (2011), ”Sierra Leone – History & Background”, in State University, 2011, [http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1332/Sierra-Leone-HISTORY-BACKGROUND.html], accessed on 10 November 2024.
6. *** (2015), "Sierra Leone profile – Timeline", BBC News, 18 March, [http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-14094419], accessed on 10 November 2024.
7. *** (2000), ”Sierra Leone Rebels Forcefully Recruit Child Soldiers”, in Human Rights Watch, 31 May, [https://www.hrw.org/news/2000/05/31/sierra-leone-rebels-forcefully-recruit-child-soldiers], accessed on 14 November 2024.
8. *** (2012), ”The Armed Conflict in Sierra Leone”, in Human Rights Watch, 11 April, [https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/04/11/armed-conflict-sierra-leone], accessed on 14 November 2024.
9. *** Sierra Leone, [http://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries/sierra-leone], accessed on 10 November 2024.
10. Avant, D. Deborah (2005), The Market for Force. The Consequences of Privatizing Security, New York: Cambridge University Press.
11. Denov, Myriam (2010), Child Soldiers. Sierra Leone’s Revolutionary United Front, New York: Cambridge University Press.
12. Francis, J. David (1999), "Mercenary intervention in Sierra Leone: providing national security or international exploitation? ", Third World Quarterly, Vol. 20, No. 2.
13. Friedman, Rebekka (2015), “Restorative Justice in Sierra Leone: Promises and Limitations”, in Kirsten Ainley; Rebekka Friedman; Chris Mahony (eds.), Evaluating Transitional Justice, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 55–76.
14. Friedman-Rudovsky, Jean (2013), ”The Women who bear the Scars of Sierra Leone's Civil War”, The Telegraph, 16 November, [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/sierraleone/10450619/The-women-who-bear-the-scars-of-Sierra-Leones-civil-war.html], accessed on 14 November 2024.
15. Fyle, C. Magbaily (2006), Historical Dictionary of Sierra Leone, Lanham, Toronto, Oxford: The Scarecrow Press.
16. Gale, Thomson (2006), ”Revolutionary United Front (RUF)”, Encyclopedia.com, [http://www.encyclopedia.com/article-1G2-3447100132/revolutionary-united-front-ruf.html], accessed on 14 November 2024.
17. Goga, Ramona Ioana (2018), “Privatization of Security in the 20th century – From Mercenaries to Private Military Corporations”, Studia UBB Europaea, volume 1/2018, 251-264.
18. Goga, Ramona Ioana (2023), “On Mercenaries in World Politics”, Studia UBB Europaea, volume 2/2023, 299-321.
19. Goodwin, Jan (1999), ”Sierra Leone Is No Place To Be Young”, The New York Times, 14 February [http://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/14/magazine/sierra-leone-is-no-place-to-be-young.html?pagewanted=all], accessed on 14 November 2024.
20. Harris, David (2014), Sierra Leone. A Political History, London: Oxford University Press.
21. Herța, Laura M. (2017), “Hybrid Warfare – A Form of Asymmetric Conflict”, in International Conference Knowledge-Based Organization, Vol. XXIII, No 1, Sibiu: “Nicolae Bălcescu” Land Forces Academy Publishing House, pp. 135-143.
22. Herța, Laura M.; Aldea, Claudiu-Bogdan (2022), “How can Regional and International Organizations Enhance Peace Processes? Lessons Learned from Sierra Leone”, in Delia Pop-Flanja, Laura M. Herța (eds.), Conflict Resolution and Crisis Communication. Transforming Conflicts and Building Peace, Cluj-Napoca: Presa Universitară Clujeană.
23. Jang, Se Young (2012), ”The Causes of the Sierra Leone Civil War”, E-International Relations Study, 25 October [http://www.e-ir.info/2012/10/25/the-causes-of-the-sierra-leone-civil-war-underlying-grievances-and-the-role-of-the-revolutionary-united-front/], accessed on 14 November 2024.
24. Kinsey, Christopher (2006), Corporate Soldiers and International Security. The rise of private military companies, Abingdon: Routledge.
25. Lancaster, Carol (2007), ”We Fall Down and Get Up”, Center for Global Development, August, [http://www.cgdev.org/files/14314_file_Lancaster_Sierra_Leone.pdf], accessed on 10 November 2024.
26. M’Cormack-Hale, Fredline A. O. (2010), “The Role of NGOs in the Democratization Process in Postwar Sierra Leone”, in Marda Mustapha; Joseph J. Bangura (eds.), Sierra Leone beyond the Lomé Peace Accord, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
27. Marks, Zoe (2013), ”Sexual Violence in Sierra Leone’s Civil war: ‘Virgination’, Rape, and Marriage”, African Affairs, p. 75, DOI: 10.1093/afraf/adt070.
28. McHugh, Richard, ”Revolutionary United Front (RUF)”, Encyclopaedia Britannica Online, [f.a.], http://www.britannica.com/topic/Revolutionary-United-Front], accessed on 14 November 2024.
29. Münkler, Herfried (2005), The New Wars, Cambridge: Polity Press.
30. Neguț, Silviu; Matei, C. Horia; Nicolae, Ion (2014), Enciclopedia statelor lumii, ediția a XIII-a, București: Meronia.
31. Nicol, Davidson S.H.W.; Sesay, Shekou M.; Fyfe, Christopher, "Sierra Leone: Post-civil war", in Encyclopaedia Britannica [f.a.], [https://www.britannica.com/place/Sierra-Leone/Post-civil-war], accessed on 30 November 2024.
32. Ortiz, Carlos (2010), Private Armed Forces and Global Security. A Guide to the Issues, Santa Barbara: Praeger.
33. Rubin, Elizabeth (1999), ”Saving Sierra Leone, At a Price”, The New York Times, 4 February, [http://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/04/opinion/saving-sierra-leone-at-a-price.html], accessed on 13 November 2024.
34. Sesay, Shekou M. and Fyfe, Christopher (2024), ”Sierra Leone”, in Encyclopaedia Britannica, 10 November, [https://www.britannica.com/place/Sierra-Leone], accessed on 14 November 2024.
35. Șerban, Alexandra „Blestemul diamantelor: un deceniu de război civil in Sierra Leone”, Historia.ro, [f.a.], [http://www.historia.ro/exclusiv_web/general/articol/blestemul-diamantelor-un-deceniu-r-zboi-civil-n-sierra-leone], accessed on 13 November 2024.
36. United Nations (1989), International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries, New York, 4 December, [https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/international-convention-against-recruitment-use-financing-and], accessed on 14 November 2024.
37. United Nations (1977), Protocol additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the protection of victims of international armed conflicts (Protocol I), no. 17512, Geneva, 8 June 1977, [https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTS/Volume%201125/volume-1125-I-17512-English.pdf], accessed on 20 November 2024.
38. United Nations (1997), Security Council Unanimously Approves Sanctions Regime against Sierra Leone, New York, 8 October, [https://press.un.org/en/1997/19971008.sc6425.html], accessed on 10 November 2024.
39. van Niekerk, Phillip (1995), "African Soldiers-for-rent just Businessmen at Heart", The Globe and Mail, 21 September.
40. Varisco, Andrea Edoardo (2018), Research in Security Sector Reform Policy. The Case of Sierra Leone, London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai Studia Europaea
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
